Automatic release for thread protectors



1954 w. c. BAKER AUTOMATIC RELEASE FOR THREAD PROTECTORS F'iled June 9, 1952 Ami/m? & W/zA/I 5 54/56 2 United States Patent AUTOMATIC RELEASE FOR THREAD PROTECTORS Willis Clark Baker, Long Beach, Calif., assignor, by decree of distribution, to Malcolm C. Baker and Marie Furman Application June 9, 1952, Serial No. 292,565

1 Claim. (Cl. 29-200) This invention relates to an automatic release for a thread protector of a stand of easing. Particularly in the oil industry, the casing being placed in the bore of the well is threaded at both ends. The stands of casing are first placed on a rack outside of the derrick and are taken from this rack one at a time into the derrick, and the stands are threaded together and subsequently lowered into the well. One end of the stand of casing is engaged by the elevator and this end is, therefore, always lifted above any obstruction. The opposite end of the stand of easing drags along the ground and it is this end upon which a thread protector is placed.

An object of my invention is to remove the thread protector from the stand of easing just before the casing swings into the derrick in a position to be threaded onto an adjacent stand of pipe.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel means to automatically remove the thread protector from a stand of easing as the lower end of the casing moves into the derrick, and then to return the thread protector to the ground level where it can be reused.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel automatic release for a thread protector in which the stand of casing is so positioned as the lower end of the stand moves into the derrick that the thread protector will be in a proper position to be removed from the casing.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a derrick and with my invention mounted thereon.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of my automaic release for a thread protector positioned on a derr1c Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the casing guide member.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, my invention relates to a means of removing a pipe thread protector from a stand of pipe, and this protector may be of the type shown in my Patent No. 2,513,613, dated July 4, 1950, or No. 2,547,992, dated April 10, 1951, and consisting of a sleeve 1 which surrounds the threads on one end of the casing 2, and is held in position on the casing by a suitable means, such as is shown in the above mentioned patents. The pipe engaging pins, or the like, are released from engagement with the pipe by a pivotally mounted lever 3 on the protector 1, and when this lever is swung outwardly on its pivot, the pipe engaging pins are retracted, thus releasing the sleeve 1 so that it can either drop off of the pipe, or be pulled off of the pipe protector as the lower end of the stand 2 is about to swing into the derrick 4.

The usual elevators 5 engage one end of the casing stand 2 and these elevators hang from the usual hook and traveling block assembly 6, all of which is usual and well known in the drilling art. When the casing stand 2 is almost in a vertical position, it is desirable to remove the thread protector 1 so that the stand will be ready to be threaded into the adjacent stand of pipe, which is already in position in the bore of the well. An inclined ramp 7 extends from the floor 8 of the derrick to the ground. The lower end of the casing 2 will be dragged upwardly along the ramp 7 as the stand is being moved into the derrick 4.

A length of chain 9 is secured at one end to the lever 3 and the other end of this chain is provided with a ball 10. The ramp 7 is formed or provided with a tapered slot 11, and as the lower end of the stand of easing 2 moves along the ramp 7, the ball 10 will drop into this slot and will be caught in the upper narrow end thereof, and will be stopped at this point, thus exerting a pull on the chain 9, causing the lever 3 to rotate or trip, and thus releasing the thread protector sleeve 1 from the casing 2.

In order that the lower end of the casing 2 may be elevated above the ramp 7 at the time when a pull is exerted on the chain 9 so that the lever 3 may be more effectively tripped, I provide a casing guide which consists of two vertical posts 12+12 spaced a suitable distance apart and connected by a cable or bar 13. From examination of Figure 3 it will be evident that the lower end of the casing 2 will be raised vertically, due to the fact that the casing moves over the bar 13, and thus raises the lower end of the casing above the ramp 7, whereby a more effective pull can be exerted on the lgelver 3 by the chain 9 as the ball 10 catches in the slot The posts 12 may be pivotally mounted, as shown at 14, on the floor 8 of the derrick, and in raised position the posts rest against a stop 15 secured to the floor 8, and the other side of the post is engaged by a latch 16 which can be released so that the posts 12 can be swung down to rest upon the floor 8. This is done when no casing is being run in the well. To return the thread protector 1 to ground level, I provide an inclined cable 17, one end of which is attached to a post 18 on the floor of the derrick, and the other end is either held by a workman at ground level or tied to another post or the like, not shown. The cable 17 inclines downwardly towards the ground, and a second chain 19 is secured at one end to the chain 9, and the other end is provided with a ring or pulley 20 which rides on the cable 37. When the thread protector 1 has been removed from the end of the casing, it will slide downwardly on the cable 17 to the surface of the ground and will be removed from this cable by the workman and reattached to another stand of pipe, and the process above described will be repeated.

Having described my invention, 1 claim:

An apparatus for automatically releasing the thread protector from a casing being brought to the derrick, said thread protector having a chain depending therefrom, said apparatus comprising an inclined ramp extending to the derrick floor, said ramp having a f-shaped notch in its lower end, a guide on the derrick floor to guide a casing over the V-shaped notch in the ramp as Number Name Date 640,091 Carr Dec. 26, 1899 685,879 Spaulding Nov. 5, 1901 2,201,813 Doud May 21, 1940 2,513,613 Baker July 4, 1950 

